Dubai's At.mosphere And Other Sky-Scraping Restaurants

We all have a checklist of
restaurant requirements. The food must be of a certain caliber. The décor must
be appealing, the service pleasant, and, of course, the eatery must tower above
the earth. Well good news for those who live and die by that last category, a
new restaurant has opened at 1,350 feet on the 122nd floor of the
world's tallest building, Buri Khalifa in Dubai, making it the newest world's
highest restaurant.

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The aptly named
At.mosphere is reachable by an express elevator ride that takes only 57 seconds
to reach the cloud-scraping restaurant and, according to chef Dwayne Cheer who
spoke with MSN, never fails to make your ears pop. Dinners at At.mosphere will
cost you more than the side effects of the elevator. Diners are charged a
minimum of AED450 ($122) per person and with items like foie gras or beef
tartare gracing the menu it's easy to see where that price comes from.

If you can't get out to
Dubai any time soon but still need to check off that height requirement on your
ideal restaurant requirements list, then here are some other vertigo-inducing
spots.

360 The Restaurant: When At.mosphere opened it unseated the previous
highest restaurant in Toronto's CN Tower (1,151 feet), which has one advantage
over At.mosphere - it rotates. The restaurant also boasts a carefully climate-controlled
"cellar in the sky," which houses over 550 international and Canadian labels.

Sirocco Restaurant: The ultra exclusive Sirocco Restaurant and Sky Bar
in Bangkok holds the title of world's largest open-air restaurant. Located on
the 64th floor at 820 feet of the State Tower (Bangkok's second
tallest building), the restaurant boasts a 270-degree panoramic view of Bangkok
city. No children under five are allowed in the restaurant for safety reasons.

Cloud 9 Bar: Located on the 87th floor of the Jin Mao Tower in
Shanghai, Cloud 9 tops the list of world's highest bars at over 1,200 feet. Any
fears caused by the floor to ceiling windows that look out over the Huangpu
River can be assuaged by a swig of the strong house cocktail, the Polaris,
which consists of dry sherry, limoncello and crème de framboise.

Aiguille du Midi: Rather than attempt to build a tall structure and then open a
restaurant, the folks behind France's Aiguille du Midi just used what they already
had: a very tall mountain. The restaurant, which is at an altitude of 11,483
feet, is accessible by cable car, complete with ice bar and touts a panorama of
the Alps.

Miner's Tavern: If heights aren't your
thing but you still want your restaurant of choice to be at an intriguing
altitude, then why not try going under ground? Poland's Miner's Tavern is
located in a salt mine 410 feet below the earth's surface. The dishes served
are, of course, seasoned with salt mined from the diners' very surroundings.